JAPAN

Japan's greenhouse gas emissions tumbled 6.2 percent last year in a new sign on Wednesday that recession is doing the job of cutting emissions while the world struggles toward a U.N. pact to combat climate change.

Somali pirates seized a Greek cargo ship and a Yemeni fishing boat in the latest attacks demonstrating their ability to evade international naval forces, gunmen and officials said Wednesday.

A naval skirmish between the two Koreas will not derail the Obama administration's plans to send its first envoy to Pyongyang to revive dormant nuclear talks, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday.

The United States and Japan will agree this week to review their decades-old security alliance to tighten ties long term, a Japanese newspaper said Wednesday, as the two countries struggled to keep a feud over a U.S. military base from spoiling their leaders' summit.

Honda Motor Co is not betting on an immediate recovery in traditional markets and will focus on bright spots China and India, although it will not build an ultra low-cost car to take on Tata Motor's Nano.

Africa faces a surge in cancer deaths unless action is taken in the next decade to stem rising smoking levels in a continent where anti-tobacco laws remain rare, U.S. scientists said Wednesday.

Private equity firm TPG could partner with American Airlines on a minority investment in Japan Airlines to prevent its defection to a rival airline group, the chief financial officer of American parent AMR Corp said.

With little prospect of any new climate change initiatives emerging at an APEC meeting in Singapore this weekend, the climate agenda might instead focus on liberalizing trade in green goods and services.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday he believes strongly in the need to maintain a strong dollar and said the United States was determined to get its budget deficit down.

The yen tested higher ground on Wednesday, buoyed by stop-loss buying and eking out gains against the high-yielding Australian dollar after a mixed batch of Chinese economic data.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Wednesday he believes strongly in the need to maintain a strong dollar and said the United States was determined to get its budget deficit down.

Stock index futures pointed to a higher opening on Wall Street on Wednesday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.9 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.8 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.8 percent at 4:54 a.m. EST.

Asian stocks rose for a fourth day in a row on Wednesday as Chinese factory output jumped to a 19-month high in October, while the ailing U.S. dollar hovered near a 15-month low.

Asian stocks rose for a fourth day on Wednesday as reports showed Chinese factory output jumped to a 19-month high in October, while the ailing U.S. dollar hovered near a 15-month low.

Oil rose above $79 a barrel on Wednesday, after dipping a day earlier, as signs of robust economic growth in China offset mildly bearish U.S. industry data showing surprise builds in crude and distillate stockpiles.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Tuesday told his Japanese counterpart that a commitment by Tokyo to rely less on exports and more on domestic consumption to power growth will benefit the global economy.

Softbank Corp, Japan's No.3 wireless carrier, said it will add to its lineup its first phone using Google Inc's Android operating system in the spring, following similar launches by NTT DoCoMo and Verizon Wireless.

The weather is cooling down and many North Americans are grudgingly trading in their teeny two-piece for a wool coat and gloves-but just because the seasons are changing doesn't mean there is

Japanese manga artist Hoshino Yukinobu has brought his popular character Professor Munakata to London's British Museum, featuring some of the collection's most famous treasures in his drawings

A government task force working on a revival plan for Japan Airlines Corp is considering using a debt restructuring mediation scheme to help ease the airline's financing woes, two sources familiar with the matter said.

Barack Obama this week makes his first trip to Asia as president, leaving behind a host of domestic problems with a visit that recognizes the region's economic and diplomatic importance to the United States.